


The Town's New Defender

by Maiika



Series: Old West AU [8]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 06:31:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15407085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiika/pseuds/Maiika
Summary: After coming into West City as a stranger, Goku has settled in as one of their own.  When faced with the demon haunting the town, his loyalty and dedication to the small Western town becomes apparent to all the residents, but most of all, to the young lady who's determined to become his bride.





	The Town's New Defender

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt: "just come back alive...okay?"

A scream rang through the town.  
  
Chi-Chi King tore her eyes from her sewing to watch the people running past her window.  They were all running _to_ something.  In the middle of the day, she couldn’t imagine what it was, but she feared the worst.  She shot to her feet, draping her half-finished dress over the table at her side.  Out the door, past her porch, Chi-Chi ran, leaving her father behind.  Chi-Chi growled with the effort of trekking through uneven terrain in desert heat and thick layers of skirts.  She hoped whatever had happened outside wasn’t _too_ terrible.  Hopefully none of her friends were severely hurt.  
  
When she reached the point where a crowd had gathered, Chi-Chi was standing in front of the general store.  Its door was wide open.  People were forming a semicircle around its entrance.  As Chi-Chi pushed her way to the front of the crowd, she heard, over the general murmur, Mr. Popo’s deep voice.  It trembled with emotion.  She put a hand on Bulma’s lithe shoulder as she passed.  The extent of the scene was revealed to her when her friend stepped aside.    
  
There was an unconscious body on the ground, Mr. Popo sobbing on his knees by Mr. Kami’s side, that blue-haired prostitute (whom Chi-Chi couldn’t stand) pacing and hyperventilating a prayer, and straight across from them, the most easygoing man Chi-Chi had ever met, fuming with anger. For a moment, the determination she felt since hearing the whore’s scream was forgotten.  Chi-Chi gasped when Goku’s eyes snapped from the unconscious old native to meet her gaze.  If she hadn’t started getting to know him over this past week, she’d find him frightening with that look.  She clenched her jaw.  
  
“Chi-Chi,” Bulma said, squeezing her arm, “it was him again.”  
  
“Kami,” Mr. Popo continued crying, smacking his palm lightly against Kami’s leathery cheek, “Kami.  Please.”  
  
“Oh, no,” Chi-Chi breathed, clutching her chest as her eyes panned over the blood dripping down the side of Kami’s temple.  “That savage was here?  Just now?”  
  
“What savage?” Goku demanded, his eyes fixed intently on Chi-Chi when she looked up.  
  
Sheriff Roshi laid a hand on Goku’s tense shoulder.  “Nothin’ for you to trouble yourself with, son.  Just some crazed outcast from one of our neighboring tribes.  He’s got it out for poor Mr. Kami here, since the man left the Nameks to join our civilized society.”  
  
To Chi-Chi’s surprise, Goku shook Roshi off, his intense gaze panning across all their faces.  “It _does_ trouble me.  Any man who can strike this much fear in innocent people is my problem.  He’s got no right, whoever this savage is.”  
  
Bulma grunted and stepped forward.  “His name’s Piccolo Daimao, Mr. Son.”  
  
“Piccolo,” Goku repeated as if committing the name to memory, his brow twitching.  
  
Chi-Chi pinched Bulma’s arm.  “Bulma, what are you doing?  Tryin’ to help my future husband get himself killed?”  
  
“Oh!  Kami!” Mr. Popo cried, temporarily catching everyone’s attention as the old man stirred. Mr. Popo helped him upright.  “Thank God!”  
  
“I’m fine, Mr. Popo,” Kami said, massaging his head with the heel of his hand before inspecting his bloody palm with a grimace.  “Piccolo did a number on me this time.”  
  
“Well,” Goku growled, “there won’t be a next time, not if I can help it!”  
  
“Mr. Son!” Yamcha said, exchanging a glance with the old sheriff who looked equally ready to object.  “You can’t be serious about wantin’ to go after him.  No one knows the wilderness like Piccolo Daimao.  And he’s a crazed killer!  He’s ruthless!”  
  
“I don’t care _who_ he is,” Goku said, peeling the pistol from the holster strapped around his hip.  “He’s gonna learn today he can’t treat the people of this town this way.”  
  
“Goku,” Krillin said, darting forward but slowing and looking around at the anxious crowd uneasily, “you can’t just go after him _alone_.  Besides, Mr. Kami’s fine.  He said so himself.  This is nothin’ new to us.  Piccolo Daimao’s been a thorn in our side here for a while now, but this would be a waste.  There’s no use losin’ a new resident who we’ve really come to like over the likes of that scoundrel.”

Chi-Chi scowled.  Piccolo Daimao really was a problem.  It made her uneasy, knowing that fiend was out there, feeling free to walk into town at any time and do as he pleased here.  The sheriff and deputy had _tried_ to stop him.  They’d nearly lost the sheriff the last time.  And at that time, the fight was two against one.  Goku’s idea to wander into Piccolo’s territory without any help was _suicide_ , unless Goku was as good at fighting as Piccolo Daimao.  
  
“Thanks, Krillin,” Goku said, cocking a smile as he drew his gun and pointed it the blue sky.  “But I _am_ going, and if you don’t mind, it’s better I do this alone.”  
  
“Alone?” Yamcha balked.  
  
“Now see here,” Sheriff Roshi said, wagging a bony finger at Goku, “ _I’m_ the Sheriff of this here town.  So I need to-“  
  
“You need to stay here and keep these people safe in case he comes back,” Goku said with an easy grin.  “Like Deputy Yamcha said, no one knows the wilderness out there like Piccolo, so there’s a chance I might have some trouble tracking him, right?  He could be back.  You should be prepared.”  
  
Chi-Chi’s jaw slowly fell as Goku Son walked to the side of his beautiful golden stallion, in spite of all the warnings.  As he untied the reins, no one else objected.  No one else stepped forward.  The prostitute chewed her nails.  Bulma frowned at Chi-Chi sympathetically, but Chi-Chi knew Bulma had decided to let Goku go.  Everyone else looked either resigned or intrigued by Goku’s steadfast determination.  But Chi-Chi couldn’t just let Goku _go_.  In the few days she’d known him, she’d seen a life for herself with Goku.  It was a future she couldn’t sacrifice that easily.  He would see reason, surely, if it came from her.  
  
“Are you _serious_?” Chi-Chi asked, launching herself at the horse and grabbing the dangling reins as Goku threw a leg over and jumped on the saddle.  “No.  Mr. Son, you need to stay here!”  
  
“Chi-Chi,” Goku said with that warm familiarity Chi-Chi had despised at first but was now coming to adore, “I’ll be right back.”  
  
“You don’t even know what you’re dealing with,” Chi-Chi said, tugging stubbornly on the reins and grounding the horse when Goku tried to set off.  
  
“ _You_ don’t even know what I’m capable of,” Goku said with a wink.  “I’m willin’ to wrestle with this savage.  I’m just hoping he’s as big a challenge as y’all make him out to be.”  
  
“H-hoping?” Chi-Chi’s eye’s went wide, her hands opening in her moment of surprise, the reins falling from her grasp.  
  
Kinto’un turned away from her under the command of Goku’s heels and holler.  Chi-Chi shook her head.  This wasn’t right.  She looked around, desperate for help from the others, but they all were just as helpless to stop him.  Piccolo Daimao was going to kill Goku, if Goku was unlucky enough to find him.  Chi-Chi growled.  The idiot was going to get himself killed and he hadn’t even had the chance to ask for her hand yet.  
  
“Mr. Son!” Chi-Chi yelled over the neighing horse and across the thick air growing distant between them.  
  
Goku paused, Kinto’un freezing as well.  He turned and gave a questioning raise of his brows.  Chi-Chi pressed her lips together.  He looked so sweet, so handsome, yet determined.  She couldn’t yell at him when he looked at her like that. The idea of this image being the last she’d see of Goku Son made Chi-Chi’s heart flutter.  
  
She clutched her hands to her bosom, issuing a silent prayer as she said, “Just come back alive...okay?”  
  
Goku gave her a warm smile and a curt nod.  He hummed his agreement rather than speaking it, but his tone soothed Chi-Chi’s riled emotions all the same.  As he rode off into the desert, toward the wilderness in which the Namekian tribe _and_ Piccolo Daimao resided, Chi-Chi looked up toward the sunny sky.  
  
She didn’t know how she’d be able to cope if he didn’t make it back.  
-  
It wasn’t until late afternoon that Chi-Chi heard anything about his fate.  She’d spent the day finishing her dress, having to re-hem it several times because her distracted mind seemed to keep her from completing a straight line.  After the dress was finished, she began preparing a good meal for her household, which included her father, Goku and herself.  She figured if anything, _whatever_ condition in which Goku might return, he was bound to be hungry.  She and her father had learned that their boarder usually was a voracious eater, but fighting a murderous savage for the sake of all the town was bound to work up an appetite on _anyone_.  Yet when Krillin’s bellow from outside alerted her and all the town of Goku’s return, she left the heated pot she’d been stirring without a second thought, neglecting to put out the flame beneath it.  
  
Goku was back.  That was all she knew.  She didn’t know whether he was alive or dead, beaten or victorious, wounded or healthy.  She had to see him with her own eyes.  
  
Chi-Chi ran through the desert dusk in much the same way she’d run through the sunlight earlier that day.  Again, there was a crowd.  The twilight was too dark to see exactly what they were seeing, but she knew the taller mass beyond the huddled heads and shoulders was Goku on his horse.  
  
“Mr. Son!  Mr. Son!” Chi-Chi panted, drawing her feet to a stop as a few people turned around to look at her.  “Is he all right?”  
  
“He’s hurt,” Krillin said.  
  
“Oh, no!”  Chi-Chi pressed her way through the crowd, intent on assessing the damage, no matter how bad he might look or how gory it might be.  “Goku?”  
  
“I’m fine, Chi-Chi.”  
  
“Oh, thank God!”  Chi-Chi flung herself at the figure mounted on the horse, finding Goku’s warmth.  
  
He was too low to be sitting upright, draped over his horse’s neck.  Chi-Chi knew he wasn’t as fine as he claimed to be when she felt moisture permeating the bodice of her gown.  With a gasp, she pressed a hand to Goku’s broad chest.  His leather vest was tattered and soaked red.  Chi-Chi felt his heartbeat against her fingertips gliding over the leather.  
  
“You’re _not_ fine,” Chi-Chi said.  “Goku, you’re bleeding.”  
  
“Yeah,” Goku said, prying Chi-Chi’s hands off with a groan, “but you should see the other guy.”  
  
“He must be right,” Mr. Kami said, stepping out from the crowd.  “Piccolo wouldn’t have left Mr. Son standing unless he was in terrible shape himself.”  He peered into the darkness of the desert.  “I have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll see of him, though.”  
  
“Yeah,” Yamcha said, “but at least he won’t bother us again for a _long_ time, and when he does, he’s got more reason to worry when he comes here,” he added as he gave Goku a nod.  
  
“You need to let Dr. Brief have a look at you,” Chi-Chi said to Goku, ignoring the others.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Come on,” she said as she pulled him off his horse, dragging him to his feet, “Dr. Brief!”  
  
“Chi-Chi!” Goku tensed, planting his boots in the dirt and not allowing Chi-Chi to drag him any further.  “I’ll be fine!  I don’t need to see the doctor.”  
  
“Oh,” Chi-Chi sneered, placing one hand on her hip, “that hole in your chest is just going to seal itself shut, is it?”  
  
“...maybe?”  
  
“I’m here!” Dr. Brief said, barreling his way to Chi-Chi’s side, raising his medical bad overhead as his eyes lit on Goku.  “I’m going to need more light.”  
  
There was a murmur and movement in the crowd before a yellow haze fell over them.  A bright swinging oil lantern appeared as the crowd parted to make way for Krillin.  “Here,” Krillin said.  
  
“Now, let’s see you, shall we?” Dr. Brief said to Goku’s horror-stricken face highlighted by the lantern-light.  
  
“No!” Goku cried, “no, no, no!”  
  
“Mr. Son!” Chi-Chi stomped her foot and seized him before he could run off.  “This isn’t an option.  He needs to take care of you.”  
  
“I don’t want it!”  
  
Dr. Brief smiled calmly, unperturbed by the flailing and screaming occurring right in front of him.  “How about we take this to my office then, Mr. Son?  Hm?”  
  
Goku slouched, defeated, possibly relieved by the delay as the doctor turned away.  Chi-Chi smiled.  She knew Goku would get the treatment he needed.  If he was able to put up this big a fight about seeing the doctor, he would recover.  Above all, Chi-Chi was astonished.  Goku had single-handedly faced the one man who _no one_ in this town seemed capable of facing.  She knew she’d picked the right man for her husband.  She didn’t know anything about his past or where he’d come from, but she couldn’t be happier that his mysterious past led him here.  
  
“Mr. Son,” she whispered in his ear as the others turned away, Krillin and Sheriff Roshi leading Goku’s tired horse to the stables for him, “thank you.  Thank you for fighting that Piccolo off for us, _and_ for coming to this town.”  
  
Goku cocked his head toward her, raising a brow.  “Huh?”  
  
Chi-Chi took advantage of his nearness.  She closed the gap, pressing her lips to his hot cheek.  When she pulled away, she tasted salt on her lips, which tingled with the desire for more contact.  She restrained herself as Goku looked at her, his dark eyes wide.  Chi-Chi felt her cheeks flush and she was almost certain she caught a shade of pink on his dirt and blood-streaked cheeks as well.  
  
Goku touched his cheek.  “What was that?”  
  
Chi-Chi giggled.  “I look forward to seeing you again, Goku, after you’ve recovered.”  
  
Goku’s jaw dropped, his gaze remaining fixed on Chi-Chi even as Yamcha hooked an arm under his shoulder and led him to Dr. Brief’s office.  That kiss seemed to have calmed him.  Chi-Chi felt her grin widen as she clapped her hands to her cheeks.  His reaction to her kiss was better than she’d expected.  She looked forward to so many more surprises in the life she would share with this handsome, sweet young man.  
  
Goku had returned to her, just as she asked.  Chi-Chi knew without him ever needing to say it, that he might choose to be brazen and heroic, he might not restrain himself with prudence or his own safety in mind, but no matter the danger he encountered, he’d always come back.


End file.
